This is as good a month as any to toss out all previously learnt (with the exception of this column of course) gardening schedules and book lore, as things in the natural world are moving increasingly far from what they used to be.
Climate change has become an indisputable reality over the last few years, altering traditional planting and harvesting seasons and leaving gardeners, particularly those new to the game exceedingly confused and at a loss to understand as to what is happening and what they are supposed to do and when but the conundrum is just about to be solved.
Take the planting of spring flowering bulbs for instance: Up until five years or so ago, it was the done thing to plant bulbs, especially imported ones such as ranunculus, freesias, iris, tulips, daffodils, etc. anytime from the end of September until the end of October. They would, as a general rule providing that the bulbs were viable, healthy stock, come into bloom from early February onwards.
However, if that planting schedule is followed now, they are quite liable to pop up almost immediately as average temperatures have risen although, don’t let this confuse you, equally important daylight hours remain the same. Some of you, perhaps even most of you, may not mind having gorgeous bulbs in bloom during December and January but others, especially those planning a glorious spring show of flowering bulbs and annuals to coincide with the Horticultural Society’s annual extravaganza, are going to be very disappointed indeed.
Therefore, it is a wise gardener and sensible beginner who can factor in that warmer winter temperatures encourage bulbs, along with all other plants, to grow faster, flower sooner and finish earlier than was the previous rule of thumb. It now makes sense to put in the bulbs intended for a mind blowing spring show from mid-November through until the end of December and not a moment sooner or later and you will, unless the weather has yet another ‘silly session’ which is always possible, have a spring display to be proud of.
Warmer winter temperatures also allow for the continued sowing of flower, vegetable and herb seeds even if the sowing season was previously over and done with by mid to late October. So, whatever else you do, do not put your ‘left over’ seeds into storage for next year but find space to continue planting them now and until the end of December and even longer for many varieties of vegetables and herbs. One of the simplest methods of judging whether or not temperatures remain suitable for seed sowing is to realistically think about your own body temperature and the clothes you are wearing now. This may, on first impression, sound a bit weird but… it is most certainly not!
Cast your mind back to November weather a few years ago and to how often your woollies were part and parcel of cool season fun and then compare this to last year and then right now. See what I mean? Winter woollies are not needed as they used to be, air-conditioning units and fans are in use longer and warm bedding is needed, if at all, for a very short period of time indeed.Air temperatures have risen and so have soil temperatures and these increases, which are often more marked in built up locations as buildings absorb heat during the day and then radiate it back out at night, have worked to considerably lengthen the growing seasons of the majority of ‘cool’ weather plants whilst, at the same time, have reduced the summer growing season because some plants rapidly burn up in increased heat.
No longer being able to strictly adhere to established planting routines is not a problem though and is, in actual fact, quite the opposite as current climate change allows for the sowing of winter and spring vegetables, herbs and flowers for a much longer period of time with, all going well, a corresponding extension of harvesting and flowering periods if, of course, you play your cards right!
On the vegetable front you can start sowing cabbage and cauliflower at the ‘normal’ time, although if temperatures are very high then it is best to wait until they drop, continuing, depending on the variety, right through until as late as February/March instead of calling a halt by the end of October. However, it is only fair to point out that only fast growing varieties should be sown towards the end of this period as slow growing ones will burn up in higher late spring temperatures. A good guide with cabbage is that ‘hard headed’ varieties take much longer to mature than loose leaved ones, the latter can be ready to harvest in as little as six weeks from sowing if you can find varieties like ‘Greyhound’ and ‘Wheelers Imperial’ in the general seed market. Perhaps a less ‘fraught’ explanation is to say that start sowing whatever it is you feel is correct for the winter/spring season some time in September but don’t sow all of the seeds at once. Instead, keep sowing a few seeds every week or two until the New Year comes around at least.
Annual cool weather flower seeds though should all be sown by the end of December at the very latest otherwise the blooms will burn to a crisp as temperatures suddenly shoot when spring makes its presence known.
This month is also the accepted time to cut back on watering indoor plants but, yet again, this routine may not be applicable until December or even for a very short spell in January/February all depending on what the temperature, both day and night, decides to do. The pruning of roses, grape vines and shrubs is now best deferred until next month as is the root division of perennial plants such as Day Lilies and the planting of new roses, shrubs and trees may benefit from being held over until December and January too.
Basically, horticultural adjustment to the vagaries of climate change is still, and is liable to continue to be, a very hit and miss affair until some reasonably predictable weather pattern at least begins to emerge but if temperatures do not dictate ‘sweater/duvet’ for human use then soil temperatures should be sufficient for cool weather seeds. All that we, myself included, can do in these climatically changing and challenging times, is to continually experiment and hope!
Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. Answers to selected questions will appear in a future issue of the magazine shortly. The writer will not respond directly by e-mail. E-mails with attachments will not be opened. The writer’s garden is not open to the public.